1. Field of the Invention
Embodiments of the present invention relate to packaging equipment. Particularly, embodiments of the present invention relate to an apparatus for applying closures to containers. More particularly, embodiments of the present invention relate to an apparatus capable of inserting long, flexible packaging elements, such as a spray pump, accurately into a bottle.
2. Discussion of Related Art
A spray bottle is a bottle capable of squirting, spraying, or misting fluids. A common use for spray bottles is dispensing cleaners, cosmetics, and chemical specialties. While spray bottles existed before the middle of the 20th century, they used a rubber bulb, which was squeezed and the quickly-moving air siphoned fluid from the bottle. The rapid improvement in plastics after World War II increased the range of fluids able to be dispensed, and reduced the cost of the sprayers because assembly could be fully automated.
The Drackett Company, manufacturers of Windex® glass cleaner, was a leader in promoting spray bottles. Roger Drackett raised soybeans, converted the soybeans to plastic using technology purchased from Henry Ford, and was an investor in the Seaquist Company, an early manufacturer of sprayers and closures. Initially, the brittle nature of early plastics required sprayers be packaged in a cardboard box, and the sprayer inserted in the glass Windex® bottle by the consumer. The cost of sprayers was also a factor. Consumers would reuse the sprayers with bottle after bottle of glass cleaner. As plastics improved, and the cost of sprayers dropped, manufacturers were able to ship product with the sprayer already in the bottle.
In the late 1960s, spray bottles with trigger-style actuators appeared and quickly became popular, as it was less fatiguing to use. The original pump-style bottle remained more popular for applications like non-aerosol deodorants, where size was a factor, and repeated pumps were not required. Unlike the rubber bulb dispenser which primarily moved air with a small amount of fluid, modern spray bottles use a positive displacement pump acting directly on the fluid. The pump draws liquid up a siphon tube from the bottom of the bottle, and the liquid is forced out a nozzle. Depending on the sprayer, the nozzle may or may not be adjustable, so as to select between squirting a stream, aerosolizing a mist, or dispensing a spray.
The dispensing is powered by the user's efforts in a spray bottle, as opposed to the spray can, in which the user simply actuates a valve, and product is dispensed under pressure, using a liquid gasifying at room temperature and pressure such as propane/isobutane blends or Freon, or pressured gasses such as nitrous oxide or ordinary air.
Plastic bottles are an increasingly important form of packaging in the world today. The durability and convenience they provide is recognized by persons in virtually all segments of societies. In manufacturing plants specializing in filling liquid products into a bottle, it is usually common practice to place some type of cover (such a cap, lid, or seal) on the bottle to prevent leakage, contamination of product, etc. The entire process of loading the bottle, filling the bottle, capping the bottle (putting on the protective cover), and packaging the final product can be done automatically.
However, there arises a special situation in which this automatic procedure can be hampered, and this is when a sprayer pump must be inserted into a bottle. A sprayer pump is a special component fitted on a bottle allowing for the liquid in the bottle to be pressurized and “sprayed”. It is composed of a body, handle, tube, pump, and nozzle.
Spray bottles typically include a container having a threaded opening at the top. Secured to the threaded top is a threaded cap integrally formed with a pump mechanism. Attached to the pump mechanism is a tube extending from the pump mechanism to the bottom of the container. This tube is used to draw liquid from the bottom of the container to the pumping mechanism. The sprayer pump also functions as the cover of the bottle.
Automatic capping machines are well known in the bottling industry. They are often used to apply the lid or cap to a jar or bottle as part of a filling operation. However, automatic capping machines have typically not been used with spray bottles because of the difficulty in positioning the cap given the tube extending from the cap. There has been no reliable way to ensure the tube will pass through the opening of the container when such automated capping equipment is used. As such, spray bottles have typically been capped by hand rather than in an automated fashion.
A particular problem with automatically inserting sprayer pumps into a bottle is the sprayer pump tube commonly becomes bent during manufacture, and will miss the opening on the bottle entirely during insertion, because the opening on the bottle is restrictive in size. While the sprayer pump tube is straight at the top of the pump assembly, it is most likely bent at the bottom of the tube. This is particularly a problem in linear mechanical systems in which the machine is capable of only a single up/down movement, and has no feedback about the current configuration of the sprayer pump or tube. This has led to manufacturers using manual labor to insert the sprayer pump accurately, or very complex and expensive machinery to perform the task, which in turn yields reduced profits especially during small production runs.
Therefore, it would be desirable to have a simplified and more robust manner to automatically orientate and straighten the sprayer pumps for insertion into the bottle.